


In Galaxies, Far Away

by nmirah



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Langst, M/M, but before the s2 finale, character study??? i guess, idk what this is, keith hunk and lance are all 19 for story purposes only, lance gets hurt a bit sorry, pidge is 15, shiro is an adult idk, takes place somewhere after galra reveal, there are aliens, theyre important but not the focus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-11-13 23:29:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nmirah/pseuds/nmirah
Summary: The Galra have attacked a planet, stranding the aliens who lived there. Voltron decides to help out, but find out that they took in a lot more than they bargained for.While all this is going on, Lance has to come to terms with the past that he left behind on Earth.





	1. Let's Enjoy it While We're Here

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm Nmirah but you can call me Emma too if you like! You can find me here (http://nmirah-the-paladin.tumblr.com/) if you want to come yell at me or chat or something

Earth was amazing. There was so much life and wonder to be had, so many small, incredible moments that somehow, against all probability, ended up in the creation of a planet that would become the home of so many. Sprawling plains, towering cities, deep oceans; they all were the outcome of something that took billions and billions of years to create.

            Lance had never thought of the earth in this way until he left. He guessed that a life in space would make you appreciate the home you left behind. When he'd left his family home in Miami behind to attend the Galaxy Garrison two years ago, he'd thought he'd never miss it as much as he did while he was there. Now the ache had grown into agony, and he felt his heart squeeze painfully whenever he thought of his family, his Earth.

            Space was cool. It was amazing, and vast and beautiful, sometimes, but mostly, it was dark. And cold. And very lonely. Space makes you realize that everything you thought was amazing and wonderful on earth is commonplace and mundane in the face of so many advanced alien races who had been living and thriving so much longer than humans ever had. It made him feel so much more insignificant than living on Earth ever would. There, Lance would look up at the stars and wonder if he was alone. Now, he looked at the stars and wondered just how many planets full of lives depend on Voltron to save them from the Galra - a race that was far too ancient and advanced for him to wrap his mind around, and when he tried, it made him feel dizzy and stressed. Rather than make himself sick trying to understand, it was best just to go along with what his smarter teammates told him.

            Lance missed everything from Earth, but most of all, he missed the water. He missed stretching his arms out in the cold waves, the way the sun would warm the top layer of the ocean water, and how the cold depths would tug at his toes. He missed the smell of chorine and the happy, echoed chatter of people bouncing off the tiles walls of the public swimming pool in his home town. He missed his swim coach yelling at him to breathe, to swim faster, to concentrate. He missed the beach, the sun, the rain; he missed lying with his siblings in the sand of Varadero beach in the summers they would go to visit. He even missed the way sand would cling up the back of his legs and in between his toes and rub painfully when he put shoes on without washing it off.

            He missed the colour blue.

            The sound of a blaring alarm snapped him out of his melancholy thoughts, and Lance hurried to stand, already geared up in his paladin armour from earlier that morning. He ran a hand hurriedly through his hair and grabbed his helmet, heaving a grounding sigh. He took a moment, closing his eyes and rolling his neck back and forth, before donning an easy grin and running to the bridge. He felt better doing something, and the alarm raised questions in his mind that were much better than thoughts of home.

            He entered the bridge at the same time as Keith, throwing the red paladin a playful smirk, a wave of amusement washing through him at the responding eye roll that held no malice. They stood in a line, Lance bumping Hunk's shoulder affectionately as he took his place beside him, grinning up at his friend, who returned the gesture with a brief hand on Lance's shoulder.

            Pidge and Shiro arrived last, huffing as they jogged into the room. Allura turned to face them from her place in the middle of the room, Coran fussing with the controls at his station. Upon the arrival of the green and black paladin, the alarms were quickly shut off. Lance heaved a grateful sigh as the headache that began to pound in his temple slowly ebbed away.

            "Paladins, we have received an urgent request for help from a nearby moon." Allura said, pulling up a map of the galaxy in question, as if it provided any help what-so-ever. Lance glanced at it, then trained his eyes back on her.

            "Do we know who is requesting help?" Shiro asked. "They could be dangerous." Lance and the other paladins shared a sombre nod, remembering the Rolo and Nyma incident with a shudder.

            "Yes. The distress signal reveals them to be members of the Verings, an alien race almost as old as the Alteans!" Coran piped up, stroking his moustache thoughtfully. "The Verings were famous for their military expertise, at least back in my day. Why, you couldn't buy a laser gun without seeing ' _made in Verinla'_ printed on the side! It's a wonder that they're so far from their home planet."

            "Unfortunately, the distress signal only gives us so much information." Allura pulled up a picture of the moon they were headed to. "They are stranded on this moon," she said, and pointed to the small moon orbiting a large, red planet. "We need to wormhole there to get them."

            "Alright. Let's go, then." Shiro said with a serious nod. Allura walked over to her podium and began to wormhole them to their destination.

            "The space cops head out again," Lance said, bumping Hunk with his shoulder.

            "That name is _not_ going to catch on," Hunk laughed. "We already have a group name. And what could be more badass sounding than 'Voltron, mighty robot, defender of the universe'?" Hunk slapped a hand across his chest and looked off dramatically.

            "Uh, 'Voltron, mighty space robot, amazing, incredible legendary defender and handsome space cop'? Lance hummed thoughtfully.

            "You said space twice. And you think Voltron is handsome?" Pidge questioned, raising an eyebrow. Lance blinked, then shrugged with a cocky grin.

            "Of course, it's got me as a pilot," he began, making Pidge groan and run a hand down her face in exasperation, an amused light in her eyes.

            "Alright, alright, enough joking around." Shiro intervened, rolling his eyes. "You can discuss how Voltron: Legendary Defender is obviously the best name later. For now, we need a game plan."

            "He's right," Keith piped up, ignoring Lance's snort at Shiro's name comment. "Last time we were unprepared and they got the drop on us. We need to make sure something like that doesn't happen again." He gave Lance a pointed look, and Lance looked away, lips pursed in a pout and his arms crossed in his embarrassment, refusing to comment.

            "Ah, don't worry! The Alteans and the Verings have been allies for millennia! I had a cousin live in the major city of _Fenhiva_ for a whole decathebe once!" Coran sighed happily. "Beautiful place, really. Lots of glowing spores and magma streams."

            "Uh, even so, Coran, that was ten _thousand_ years ago. You think they still remember the Alteans?" Lance asked, shrugging doubtfully.

            "They have a point. We _should_ be careful." Allura said, crossing her arms and sporting a stern, thoughtful look. "A lot may have changed since we last had contact with planet Verinla. I don't even know the face of their current ruler, for one."

            "Alright then, remember to be cautious and stay with the group. Don't answer any specific questions about Voltron or the lions." Shiro said, looking at the other paladins with an expectant look in his eyes, the same look Lance remembers his father sporting, trying to herd all his children into behaving. Lance stifled a grin, feeling a rebellious urge flare up at the thought.

            _You're a paladin now,_ he told himself. _No flirting, or running off, or having fun. Just business._ He sighed gently, flashing Hunk a reassuring smile when he looked over at him nervously.

            "So, what are the Verings like, exactly? I mean, what should we expect, giant glowing flame monsters with a ton of teeth, or like little, soft clouds?" Hunk asked, anxiously wringing his hands. "Because I'd honestly prefer the latter."

            "They're tall bipeds," Coran replied, his enthusiastic smile showing off the crow's feet and laughter lines embedded on his face. "Mostly blue and green in hue, no fire or venom to speak of."

            "Oh, good." Hunk sighed, still looking nervous.

            "Entering the wormhole in three ticks." Allura barked, activating the wormhole. Lance felt the familiar tug in the pit of his stomach as they entered the glowing blue tunnel. It always blew his mind, the whole wormhole deal. Of course, he knew the theories from his courses at the Garrison - remembered the instructor folding a piece of paper to demonstrate to the class how it could happen. But he also remembered how they countered it, how much energy the wormhole would need to exist. Lance swallowed, his head spinning.

            _Don't think about that, Lance,_ he thought, frowning and shaking his head. _Those thoughts are for the smarter people. You're just here to fly a giant lion and shoot a gun._ These thoughts, while managing to put his dizziness aside, also served to sour his mood. He sighed through his nose as they exited the wormhole, focusing back on the space in front of them.

            The castle windows revealed a dark grey moon orbiting a red planet with a few wispy clouds circling it. The castle located the Verings' ship almost instantly; it was huge, boat-shaped and startlingly blue, with multiple windows and strange symbols painted in black along the sides. It was very large, almost as large as the Castle of Lions itself, looking very out of place on the small moon.

            Coran landed the castle-ship as Allura led the paladins, dressed in their armour and donning and sealing their helmets, off the castle-ship and onto the rocky surface of the moon.

            Once there, they instantly noticed the small swarm of aliens waiting for them. They wore helmets that obscured their features, but as Coran has stated, they were tall, the shortest there at least a head or two taller than Shiro. They stood on two legs, resembling those of a dinosaur, and had a tail, still covered by their space suits, that trailed out behind them.

            A tall, lanky Vering, with a stunning white armour-like suit, helmet, and a flowing forest-green cape approached the paladins with two guards behind them. The alien bowed their head upon arrival, holding their gloved, three fingered hands out in a strange, curled gesture of greeting.

            "Hello paladins of Voltron," the alien spoke, a raspy but feminine voice emitting from the helmet that sounded digitalized as it came into their helmet speakers. "I am The Empress, leader of all the Verings. It is with much gratitude that we welcome you here."

            "What seems to be the issue? Why have you requested our assistance?" Allura asked, getting the formalities out of the way.

            The Empress gestured back at their massive ship, her voice dropping sadly. "We have evacuated our entire planet. This ship houses many Verings currently, including children and elders." She turned back to face them, the visor on her helmet catching the light of some distant stars in its reflection. "The Galra have taken Verinla. Many were captured, and we fear the worst for them. The Galra are ruthless." Some of the Verings behind their leader shifted their weight and slumped their heads sadly, as if replaying the events from the attack.

            "We are one of few ships that made it off planet, heading for refuge on planet Tartinga of the Klakobah system. However, our engine suffered a severe failure and we had to land mid-journey. Our other ships have left us behind," The Empress continued. "We're stranded."

            "I am greatly sorry for your loss. We, as the paladins of Voltron, will be happy to be of help to you." Allura said with a small, sad smile. "We are only sorry we couldn't have been there to help with the Galra."

            "Don't be, you cannot be everywhere at once." The Empress replied. "Now, please, come, and we'll show you the damage." She gestured for them to follow, and led them towards their ship.

            Lance looked up, his mouth hanging open in awe, as they passed under the Verings' ship. It really was beautiful; sleek in design like that of a speed boat, made of a sturdy metal and gleaming with deep, ocean blue. Lance resisted the urge to touch the pretty metal, wondering if the blue was painted on. There were lines in the ship that seemed to glow white, showing the currents of energy that ran throughout the ship. He scanned the side of the ship, watching the white lights snake up to the towering top, forming strange shapes in the metal, as if hiding panels where things could pop out, like a gun or a jet. He wondered briefly just how much fire power was hiding in something so beautiful.

            He looked over and saw Hunk studying the ship as well, though the gleam in his eyes was much more focused on how the ship was made, rather than how cool it looked. Lance chuckled to himself; Hunk was by far one of the smartest guys he knew. Thrown into space with thousands of years old alien tech and the guy could still manage to figure out how the thing ran, all while thinking up recipes and things to be nervous about. On top of all that, the guy was fun to be around, and almost as caring as his mother. Sure, he had his flaws, but Lance sometimes truly thought he would never meet another person so amazing.

            _Oh, jeez, sappy much?_ Lance shook his head. If Lance was good at anything, it would be thinking. Not the smart kind of thinking, though, the kind of thinking that goes on for hours and consumes his entire attention. The kind of thinking that ends in rambles and always leads to places they shouldn't. The kind of thinking that drives other people up the walls when he speaks his thoughts aloud in a pacing, rambling, jumbled mess, making no sense and jumping from one topic to another.

            They reached the back of the ship, jolting Lance from his thoughts once more. The Empress looked up and gestured to the couple of aliens working on a massive hole in the ship's engine, burnt and leaking some form of gas. The aliens were gripping the metal to stay hovered in the air (thank goodness for the low gravity) and seemed to be discussing ways to patch it up, though their body language seemed to show that they were out of ideas.

            "That looks like a laser blast," Pidge commented, squinting up at it. "Did you have trouble escaping the planet? How did you make it this far out?"

            The Empress was silent for a tick, then her voice, heavy with exhaustion, rang through their helmets. "We must have been hit before we escaped their range. I suppose it just wasn't bad enough for us to crash, since we'd been travelling a while." She gave a sigh. "Our engineers must not have noticed. Everyone was in shock and disarray. I'll have a word with them shortly." She turned to face Allura. "Do you think you can do anything to help?"

            Allura looked at Shiro, who looked at Hunk, who nodded to Shiro, who nodded to Allura in one weird, short train of small gestures. Allura turned back to the Vering leader. "Yes, we will do all that we can to help."

            "You have my thanks. You may board the ship whenever you wish to remove your helmets and rest." Her voice sounded heavy with relief, and she clasped her hands in front of her before moving away, heading towards the entrance of their ship. Lance watched her leave, wondering how they possibly made it this far without their engine giving out. He looked back up at the hole in the ship, his mouth pressed thinly.

            The damage was extensive. The metal around the gaping hole was ragged and burnt, evidence of Galra laser fire. Lance was almost certain that it would have exploded, especially with the leaking gas. However, Hunk was discussing plans and making a list of parts they would need with the Verings' engineers, so he assumed that his doubts were mislead. It was all speculation on his part, anyways.

            "Hey, we're on part-hauling duty," Keith's voice, tinny sounding in Lance's helmet, piped up from where he approached Lance's left side. Lance groaned, thinking of all the parts they would have to haul from the storage rooms in the ship to fix a hole that big. Not only that, but he'd have to do it all with _Keith._ Not exactly the most enjoyable way to spend his time.

            "Ugh, weren't we supposed to stick together? As a team?" Lance complained, turning and walking towards the castle despite this. Keith kept up with the same pace, his arms crossed and face stern.

            "Don't complain, it won't take us that long. We have carts, after all." Lance snorted at Keith's answer.

            "Fine, fine. Do you know what we need?" Lance asked. Keith handed him a glowing blue tablet with a list, written in Hunk's loopy cursive writing. He squinted at it; the words were long and complicated. He thought he recognized some terms from his courses at the Garrison, but nothing that he could recall clearly. It didn't help that the blue, glowing light bugged out his eyes and made the words tilt and distort the longer he stared at them. He gave up with a sudden huff, knowing when he was beat.

            "Can you read this?" Lance asked, waving the tablet in the air. "All this... techno mumbo-jumbo?"

            Keith took the tablet back and peered at it, shooting Lance an incredulous look as they entered the castle-ship cargo bay.

            "Uh, no?" He replied. "I was hoping you'd be able to."

            "Ugh, shoot." Lance sighed and looked up at the piles of parts that they had to sort through. "Let's just.... shove a bunch in the cart and see what he needs?"

            "We'll likely be making a few trips. You sure you don't just want one of us to head back and ask for more details?"

            "No, no, no, I've got this, we've got this! We just need... that." Lance pointed to a large metal sheet, fit with weird wires and circuits. He hefted it up and shoved it into the floating, square cart. Keith sighed, and with a roll of his eyes, began to sift through the piles of spare parts, slowly but surely filling the cart, a comfortable silence settling between the two.


	2. Let's Stop Trusting Weird Aliens We Find On Moons

Once they had filled up the cart, the two boys rolled (or, rather, _hovered_ ) the cart back over to the Verings' ship. Lance noticed that Pidge and Hunk were speaking with the engineers, while Shiro and Allura were nowhere to be found, presumably on the ship with the rest of the Verings.

            _So much for sticking together and being cautious,_ Lance thought, glancing over at Keith curiously as they walked. Keith was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set in a thin line. He looked as if he were grumpily solving the most intense riddle he'd ever been asked. Or he had gas. Who knew, really, when it came to Keith. Lance hummed as they guided the cart away from a large, jutting rock.

           The moon they were on was pretty barren, but there were tall, sharp rocks protruding from the dusty grey soil, sometimes emerging from the sides of massive craters. It sort of reminded Lance of a more intense (albeit smaller) version of the moon back at Earth. He sighed, quickly shoving those thoughts aside.

            "Ah there you are. Good, we can get started," Hunk said as they approached, quickly rustling through the heaps of parts the two boys had managed to shove into the cart. Hunk pulled out a pipe and looked at it with a face that was almost proud in a way. He turned and grinned at Lance and Keith. "Good job! Everything's here. I'm impressed." He frowned and picked up another piece of scrap, something that reminded Lance of an old computer mouse. "Though, not really sure... what this is..."

            "Ah, just thought, y'know, it'd come in handy," Lance supplied, grinning smugly. "Bet you thought we couldn't read all that technical crap. But now you know to never underestimate-"

            "Yeah this was just dumb luck wasn't it?"

            "Yep totally. Do you have everything you need for sure?" Lance asked raising an eyebrow with a sheepish grin. Hunk let out an inquisitive hum, digging through the scrap once more.

            "Uh, yeah, I think so. Pidge and I can go grab whatever we need if we need to, so you two just go inside and mingle with the locals," Hunk picked up a big chunk of metal and turned to pass it to Pidge.

            "Don't mind if I do!" Lance grinned in Keith's direction. "Maybe there are some cute girls that would be all over one of the paladins of Voltron who have come to their rescue," Lance's grin grew as Keith sighed in exasperation and smacked his helmet visor with his hand.

            "Yeah, no you've been banned dude. No flirting." Hunk barely looked up from the piece of tech he was studying, fiddling with the wires with a surprising amount of delicacy with his large, glove covered hands. "Keith, keep an eye on him, will ya?"

            "What? I'm not babysitting-"

            "I don't need him to watch my-"

            "Nope, no complaining. Now go, shoo, go have fun and leave us techies to deal with this whole mess." Hunk turned and walked away without another word.

            "Ugh, quiznack. Fine, let's go, Mullet," Lance grumbled, pulling out the dumb nickname in his irritation. He turned and headed briskly to the entrance of the ship.

            "I don't have a mullet," Keith countered, a force of habit that he'd picked up from Lance's teasing. Keith jogged over to catch up to Lance and fell into step beside him. Lance just gave a soft chuckle. Keith's reaction _was_ kind of cute in a way, even if Keith's mullet reminded him of the bad hair that his older brother Eric had sported when he went through a preteen rebellious phase and refused to cut his hair.

            They reached the entrance of the ship, guarded by two armoured Verings, their bodies completely concealed. They held large blaster guns in their hands, and nodded to the two paladins as they walked past.

            "Why do they need guards?" Lance asked Keith quietly, looking back over his shoulder at them.

            "Just a precaution, maybe. Maybe they don't trust us?"

            "No, I don't think that's it. Something seems off." Lance turned his eyes forward when they stepped into the air lock. He felt the door shut behind him, and heard the air rush back in, a quiet hissing that grew louder as oxygen filled the room. Once the door in front of them opened, Lance took off his helmet with a huff, swiping his hair from his face and surveyed the group of aliens before them.

            With their armour off, Lance could finally see their faces. The Verings had large, long heads with a face set in the front. The backs of their heads sported thick, dark dreads of what Lance could only assume to be hair, while the tops of their heads held four short crests, the caverns underneath glowing softly. The shades of their leathery skin were mostly blue or teal, ranging from light to dark, and some of them were spotted in some other shade along their faces, hands and tails.

            The Empress was easy to pick out; her armour was extravagant in the pale light of the ship. It was a stunning white with golden accents, and her green cape billowed out behind her impressively as she walked towards the paladins, her hands clasped in front of her and her thin mouth set into a sort of vague smile. Her eyes were dark and thin, her orange pupils peeking out from under thin, eyebrow-like ridges. She was a pale blue with darker spots scattered sparsely across her head and hands, her hair a very dark navy and decorated with silver jewelry. Her tail waved as she walked, her footsteps heavy and measured.

            "Welcome to our ship, paladins. Your comrades are taking respite over in the corner." The Empress's voice sounded a bit older in person, and Lance could see what might have been age lines beneath her eyes and near her mouth. Lance glanced over at Shiro and Allura; they were speaking with some of the Verings, holding glasses of some sort of liquid. Lance wondered briefly if they were getting the same odd vibes as he was.

            "Thank you," Lance said, smiling politely. Keith gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "Uh, how many Verings are on this ship?" Lance asked, watching a large green alien walk by.

            "As many as we could fit with our rations," The Empress answered, smiling tightly.

            "Right. Why were there guards at the entrance?" Lance ignored the look Keith gave him. He didn't care if he was being rude, he wanted to know.

            "Just a precaution. Please, join your friends, paladins, you're very welcome here." With that, she left, her movements stiff and awkward.

            "She dodged my questions," Lance observed, narrowing his eyes. Keith tugged on his elbow, moving towards Shiro and Allura.

            "She was probably uncomfortable because you were being rude. Come on." Keith led Lance away.

            "Okay, good to hear," Shiro said as they approached, obviously answering the comms in his helmet. He turned to nod to Keith and Lance as they approached. "That was Pidge; she says the damage wasn't as serious as they had thought, so it's a quick fix."

            "Excellent. As much as the Verings hospitality is appreciated, I'd like to get moving. I don't trust The Empress. She may have ulterior motives for requesting our help." Allura looked back at The Empress, who was speaking to gun-wielding guards near the airlock.

            Lance nodded, "I picked up on that too. She's hiding something."

            "Does it matter? We'll be out of here soon," Keith grumbled. Shiro frowned, his jaw set as he considered.

            "Let's just talk to some of them, see what we can find out. If there really is a flaw in the Empress' story, maybe one of the others will give us some information." They all nodded in agreement and went in separate ways; Keith followed Lance after a moment of hesitation.

            "Uh, you need me for something?" Lance asked, noticing the way Keith tapped his finger against the plate of his forearms with his arms crossed over his chest.

            "Uh, no not really, but uh... I'm not really good with... small talk. Can I just.... tag along?" Keith said, stuttering in embarrassment. Lance snorted, ready to poke fun. He'd always thought there was nothing that Keith _couldn't_ do, and lord knows it was shoved in his face enough at the Garrison that Keith was more incredible than Lance in every way possible. However, the nervous, open look on Keith's face gave him pause; he looked lost, and a blush has slowly begun to creep up his face. He was genuine in his request for help, and Lance was honestly flattered that Keith had followed him and not Shiro or Allura.

            "Uh, yeah sure," Lance said simply, instead of pointing out Keith's awkwardness. He took this moment to sweep his hair back flirtatiously and shoot Keith a finger gun, ready to work his charm on the Verings civilians. "Just follow my lead." Lance turned and headed towards a small group of young-looking Verings, all wearing pedestrian clothing and donning no weapons.

            The conversations with the Verings ended up going nowhere; it was obvious that they were shaken from the Galra attack, but they always refused to give any details. They all said the same story, and Lance had to admit that it was convincing. If it weren't for the guarded nervousness that he'd picked up on almost every member of the Verings, as well as the multitude of guards that seemed to be milling around, he would have just brushed it off as speculation. However, he was sure that something was up.

            They met back up with Shiro after nearly 45 minutes of small talk going nowhere. "We're done with the fix. Allura is contacting the Empress right now."

            Lance heaved a grateful sigh, glad to be headed on their way. All the vibes he got from this place did little more than make his head spin. Sure, he was good when it came to talking and dealing with other people - er, aliens - but it didn't mean he enjoyed it. He hated being lied to, for starters. And the longer they spent time here, the more he felt that this whole situation was just one gigantic ruse.

            The three paladins spotted Allura and approached her as she spoke to the Empress, both their heads and backs held stiffly as they spoke face-to-face as leaders. The Empress gave a strained smile as they approached, showing sharp teeth as she spoke.

            "Ah, there you are! We thank you for fixing our ship," she began, but Allura interrupted.

            "Yes, it was our pleasure, but we really must be leaving now,"

            "Oh, no, we insist that you stay! Our kitchens would be overjoyed to prepare a feast for the paladins of Voltron!" The Empress's eyes glittered uneasily.

            "No, we have no time to spend feasting, I'm afraid," Allura sounded tense, as if she'd been rejecting this proposal over and over all night. "We really must be going as soon as-"

            "No! Uh, no, please, I really must insist-" Lance narrowed his eyes. The Empress looked extremely nervous now, swallowing and wringing her hands in front of her. Her eyes were sharp, however, and held a deep frustration veiled thinly with a fake joy.

            "We're leaving." Allura waved her hand and put her helmet on her head. "We wish you the best of luck, but we must be going." Lance, Keith and Shiro all did the same, donning their helmets, but not sealing their visors quite yet.

            A rumble deep below their feet made them pause their exit, however. They heard the cheerful chatter of the Verings quiet until it was deathly silent. There was another rumble, this time stronger. Lance swallowed nervously.

            "Uh, guys?" Hunk's voice sounded through their helmets. "We've got company!"

            "What is it?" Keith asked as the four rushed to the exit and into the airlock. The door sealed shut behind them before the Empress or anyone else could follow. The four sealed their helmets as the air begun to sizzle out of the room.

            "It's the Galra. And the ship is _huge._ " Pidge answered, her voice trembling softly. "It might be another robeast."

            The door to space opened and sound disappeared. Lance could hear his breath sounding in his ear as he jogged past the ship to turn and see... oh _man._

            A giant Galra craft had landed on the small moon, making it seem like a giant, out of place statue. Lance and the others jogged over to where Pidge and Hunk were standing, staring at the ship. It opened with a silent release of air, steaming off into the black space around them.

            "We're sorry! We had no choice!" The Empress' voice chimed through their helmets as Lance and the others stared, transfixed, as a massive robeast uncurled long, gangly limbs as it emerged from the ship, the dirt below them rumbling ominously.

            "Get to the lions," Shiro ordered, and with a nod Lance turned to rush back to the castle-ship, hoping that he wasn't too late. Lance spotted Allura standing in front of the Empress, her face furious.

            "What is the meaning of this? You request our help and this is how you repay us?" Allura's voice was nothing short of terrifying, her eyes glinting angrily behind her visor.

            "The Galra were going to kill us all! This was the only way-" Allura snorts at the answer, looking like she briefly wanted to smack the helmet off the alien, but instead she moved with quick fury towards the castle-ship.

            "Let's move, paladins! We have little time." Lance ran after her with a gulp as the ground quaked once more, almost making him lose his balance.

            The last thing he heard in his helmet as he saw his lion fly out to meet him was a wail from the Empress.

            "We had no choice!"


	3. There's Never a Plan B When You Need It

"Why can't we just wormhole out of here?" Pidge complained as they entered their lions.

            "And just leave them to die?" Hunk asked. "That's cold, Pidge."

            "Hey, they lied to us! I say screw them and let's get out of here!"

            Lance sighed, taking his seat in his lion, grinning as her screens lit up casting the cockpit in soft blue light. _Hello, beautiful,_ he thought, grabbing the controls. The blue lion reacted instantly, letting out a silent roar and taking to the air, the engines purring in the back of his mind. His grin grew as the moon below started to grow smaller, the ground rushing past with a blur at the speed of his lion.

            "We are still paladins of Voltron, and it is our duty to protect them," Shiro's voice cut through the bickering, his face popping up with the others on Lance's screen. He shot them a confident smile, flying towards the robeast.

            The robeast was absolutely huge; it stood on two feet, drawn apart in a steady stance as it observed the lions around them, distracting it as the castle-ship moved out of the range of the fighting. The robeast was covered in the colour purple that the Galra seemed to love shoving in everyone's faces. It began to move its arms, which looked like spears or massive claws, away from where they had been drawn up like a praying mantis in front of its chest. Its eyes whirled around independently of each other, following Keith and Pidge as they flew off behind it.

            "What do we do? It's just... watching us," Lance said. It was honestly giving him the creeps, how the robeast stood, eyes moving along with the lions, head twitching jerkily as it attempted to watch all of them at once. Teeth protruded from its jaw, looking strangely organic amidst all the metal robotic parts. Lance felt a shiver run up his spine; these _were_ just robots, right? Didn't Shiro say something about fighting the first robeast before?

            "Let's just concentrate on taking this thing down," Shiro said after a moment. "Hunk, Pidge, hit it with what you've got but keep your distance. Keith, see what those claws can do, but _don't_ get close enough to get hit. Lance, see if you can slow it down."

            "Rodger that," Lance moved his lion down towards the ground, holding back a yell of joy as the rocks rushed to greet him, the weak gravity below tugging at his lion. He pulled up before he hit the ground, his lion easily adjusting, and headed towards the feet of the robeast.

             He could hear Keith and Shiro calling out to each other over the comms, but Lance tuned them out for the moment. He felt the rush of icy power tingle through his fingertips as he activated the blue lion's power, sending out a blast of ice that coated the feet of the beast. Lance swung around until he'd gotten the first foot completely encased. He moved for the second one, moving out of the way with a yelp as it moved the unfrozen foot, adjusting its stance as it took a mighty swing at Keith.

            "You alright up there?" Lance asked, moving forwards to ice the other foot, splashing the surface of the moon and trailing ice over the barren rocks.

            "Yep, we're all good," Hunk's nervous voice came through the comms, "but this thing isn't responding to our attacks at all!" The sound of the yellow lion's blast reached Lance's ears through the comms and he moved his lion up to join the others, watching as Hunk sent a blue blast towards the robeast that glanced off its purple armour with a bright flash.

            The beast's eyes twirled around on their stalks, following the red and black lions as they darted around, distracting it. It swung at them again, its claws moving extremely fast, their edges blurring. Lance shot forwards and sent a few blasts in its direction.

            With a switch of its eyes, the beast turned and stared at Lance a moment before opening its mouth and sending a thick green laser in his direction. Lance let out a cry of surprise, rearing his lion back just in time, narrowly missing it. The beast gave a shudder, then tried to step towards the lions as they moved away from it. It pulled at its frozen feet, and, with a rumbling groan that shook the moon, it pulled its left foot from the ice and sent another laser in their direction.

            It drew its claws close to its body, mouth agape and shooting out another laser at Keith as he flew by, the tail of the red lion blasting across the armour of the beast, resembling the slicing motion of a sword. Lance flew back to observe the beast; by far its most powerful attack was the quick way it moved its beastly claws. However, as it held them close it seemed to rear them back as if he were about to strike. It waited, sending out another laser. Keith flew in closer, Shiro close behind. The beast's eyes focused in on the two of them and it swung incredibly fast, hitting the black lion's tail and throwing it off its flight path, forcing Shiro to hastily dive to the side.

            "Shiro, our lions aren't strong enough to penetrate the armour! we need to form Voltron." Keith shouted, dodging a quick stab from the beast.

            "Alright, let's do it!" Shiro replied. Lance felt the tug of their lion's bond and moved forwards instinctually.

            He heard the  roars of the other four lions in the back of his mind, his own lion's consciousness loud within him. He felt a familiar pull in the base of his gut, grounding him to his seat and joining his mind with the others, like marbles clinking together. First he felt Shiro's presence, the strongest along with the black lion, then the others began to filter through, settling in comfortably in the sides of his thoughts. The five of them clicked, all in perfect sync, forming Voltron with a steady stance, determination flowing through their veins along with the strange familiarity of alien power.

            Without a word, Voltron took on a fighting stance, feet planted firmly on the ground and a sword in hand, facing their opponent. The robeast stared at them, both eyes locked onto Voltron's mysterious face. The beast stood still for a moment, and Lance swallowed, suddenly nervous.

            Lance swore he heard it scream, though he knew it was impossible. The beast opened its mouth and charged up a beam, white and blinding within the sharp, pointed teeth. Shiro gave a command, and Voltron charged the beast, sword poised and ready to strike and shield up to protect against the blast. The blast hit them before they made it, engulfing them all in a horribly painful shocking sensation and blinding their eyes with pure white. Lance yelled, and he heard the others yell as well, loud in his ears. He gritted his teeth against the pain that assaulted his limbs, racing like electricity though his dear lion. He felt he could hear her pain shrieking in the back of his mind, and it made his heart twist.

            When he was finally able to see, he could hear the others groaning in his ears. The pain was mostly gone, but his limbs felt stiff and twitchy. He blinked a few times, surprised to find himself in the air once more, his lion hovering by herself only a few dozen meters away from the robeast, who looked unharmed, eyes waving about as it tried to locate the lions. The beast flared up a few streams of jets along its back, hoisting it in the air as it looked for the lions.

            "It... broke apart Voltron!" Pidge sounded both amazed and afraid. Lance swallowed a rush of relief at her voice. She was unharmed. "How did it _do_ that?"

            "H...How is this possible?" Hunk said, his voice trembling.

            "Is everyone okay?" Shiro's voice cut through. Lance swung his lion around, away from the beast and jetting towards the rest of the lions, hovering close to a tall rock jutting out from the surface of the moon.

            "I'm fine," Lance said, popping the faces of the others back up on the dash. The rest of the team answered similarly, and Lance studied their faces for any signs of lying. Keith looked angry, Pidge and Hunk afraid, and Shiro still had a stoic calm to him that Lance was unable to get a read on. He decided to take it as 'determined'.

            "How are we going to beat this thing without Voltron?" Pidge asked.

            "We should get the hell out of here," Hunk stuttered. "I mean, we could barely get a dent on this thing with our lions!"

            "Ugh! Fuck!" Keith shouted suddenly, his rage overpowering him. He bolted forwards with his lion, spitting out flames from her mouth. Lance started after him, but was held back by a shout from Shiro.

            Keith shot fire at the beasts' armour, getting close to the claws. Lance started forwards again, watching with dismay when the beast lurched forwards and propelled its claws straight for Keith. With Lance's warning shout, Keith gave a loud curse and reared up and out of the way, a loud bang sounding through the comms as the claws glanced off the side of the red lion, forcing Keith into a spin.

            "Woah! That was close, you okay?" Lance asked as Keith, cursing under his breath, managed to right himself before smacking into the ground. The sound of Keith's muttering curses sent a wave of relief through him. The claws hadn't breached the armour of the red lion.

            "Fine. We need to figure out how to beat this thing, and fast," Keith said, joining the others back by the rock. The robeast didn't seem to be too interested in following them, but its eyes were definitely watching them closely, spinning and focusing like the lens of a camera.

            "How do we beat it without Voltron! We need to get out of here!" Hunk's lion gave a shudder, as if it were fighting against panic.

            Shiro's voice was steady. "Calm down. Keith, Lance, distract it while Pidge and Hunk look for a weak spot. I'll get into contact with Allura and Coran. We can beat this thing; we've been up against worse."

            "Okay." Lance answered quickly, moving up to the robeast's face with Keith close beside. It focused on them instantly, an eye on each of them as they flew around the thing's head, shooting at the eye stalks with ice and fire. The pattern that Lance noticed before seemed to crop up again; the beast held its claws close it its body, sending out lasers in Keith and Lance's direction. It stepped forwards to keep them in sight, both feet out of their icy prisons.

            Lance flew down towards the claws curiously, sending a quick notice to Keith before going down extremely close to the robeast's body, his view now focusing on the different panels of purple armour across the midsection of the bug-like robeast. He sent out a wave of ice across one of the arms connected to the deadly claws, encasing it in a solid cage, the purple shimmering through the blue-toned ice. The beast gave a shudder, then seemed to brace itself before jamming its claws forwards into the air, breaking clean of the ice and swinging at Lance, its eyes rolling around trying to locate him. Its mouth was agape, a laser already charging inside. Lance swallowed, feeling his lion send him a quick thought that sounded a lot like ' _look out!_

With a push forwards on his controls, Lance managed to escape the sweeping motion of the laser that was sent his way. It burned through the ground of the moon, breaking apart rocks and destroying the dirt. He looked over and saw the Castleship hovering nearby, but the Vering's ship was still on the moon, still just as shiny and sleek as before. He felt a wave of bitterness sweep through him, but clamped it down. He had to protect them, no matter what the Empress had done.

            "I think there's a pattern with the way it fights. It needs to rest it's claws before striking," Lance said quickly, pulling his lion back up to join Keith, sending lasers and attacking the eyes directly, the claws of his lion having no damaging effect on the seemingly impervious armour.

            "Okay," Shiro's voice cut in, "Pidge, Hunk, have you found a weak spot at all?"

            "I dunno for sure," Hunk said, spinning downwards and trying to bite into the armour. "But there seems to be a soft spot in the middle. I think."

            "It reacted when we hit it, and it dented in a bit more, so maybe that's where the armour is weakest?" Pidge added, sending vines to cover the legs of the beast. "But it still seems pretty solid."

            "Well, it's the only lead we've got. Keith, Lance, aim for the soft spot after it strikes. I will try to get its attention aimed at me. Pidge, Hunk, try and slow it down."

            "Okay. Ready, Lance?" Keith asked, the two lions flying steadily towards the middle of the beast.

            "Always am," Lance flashed Keith a crooked smirk through the video feed. Keith replied with a similar face, and they sat back, waiting, with muscles tense on the controls, their lions humming in anticipation in the back of their minds. Lance braced himself as Shiro sent blasts aiming towards the claws, the black lion's imposing figure dwarfed by the gigantic beast. The robeast took a step forwards, and the black lion flew out of the way quickly as the claws came down, blurring. It hit the giant column of rock that they had been hiding behind previously, breaking it into pieces. The beast opened its mouth and, the jet-pack like things on its back activating, flew up in the air, searching around.

            "Go!" Shiro's call came, unneeded as Lance and Keith shot forwards, attacking the armour with all they had, claws, lasers and beams of fire and ice creating bursts of light that sounded throughout their lions.

            Lance dodged one of the beast's lasers and he and Keith backed up, surveying their damage with dismay.

            "We barely dented it!" Keith said, eyebrows furrowed. The beast sent another laser in Hunk's direction. Lance looked around for another option, his mind spinning in its effort to scrounge up some kind of plan. Anything, _anything..._ wait.

            Lance's eyes fell on the rising red planet below, the planet the moon was orbiting. If they could somehow get the beast to fall down onto the planet... He looked up. The beast was hovering very high now, swinging out at the other lions as they swarmed it, blasting with lasers, sending it higher into space. It was in the perfect position... but he'd need to think this through.

            Before Lance could voice his vague plan to Shiro, Keith headed for the middle of the carapace again, following after a swing of one of the claws. Lance felt panic rise to his throat as the beast reared back its other claw and aiming for Keith's lion.

            " _Keith!"_ Lance barely registered the shout as it ripped through him, his lion thinking with him in sync and flying incredibly fast up to Keith, knocking him unceremoniously out of the path of the claw. Lance heaved on the controls and tried to spin out of the way, the shouts of his teammates sounding in his ears. He crashed into the claw as it slammed him down, forcibly. He let out a cry as his lion was smashed into the body of the beast, sending them both toppling violently backwards, the lack of atmosphere adding speed to their path as they were caught in the gravitational pull of the red planet below.  

            "Lance!" Someone shouted, but Lance's head was spinning. The beast let out a silent roar, its mouth agape, sending a laser into the sky. Lance, banged up, his lion's armour rattling dangerously, activated his jets and drove the beast backwards. The alarms blared in his lion, screeching through the comms and causing the panicked shouts of his friends to heighten. Lance wanted to answer, but in his struggle with the beast, he couldn't focus on what they were saying. His mind was screaming along with the alarms: _save them save them SAVE THEM._

            Gravity tugged at them quickly, and they fell, fast and hard, the wisps of clouds bolting past and leaving spatters of liquid across the blue lion's view. Lance was ripped away from his hold on the beast, flying off into a spiral. His breath caught in his lungs, pushed down hard. He couldn't take a breath, and it was so _loud._

            He was suddenly rammed from his seat, the lack of a seat strap letting his body collide with the dashboard of the blue lion, his helmet tossed off his head. He tumbled with the spin of the lion, smashed into various surfaces while the his lion screamed fearfully in his brain. He reached out and held onto the seat, but on another downward turn his shoulder was ripped painfully from its socket with a loud pop and a scream that barely reached his ears. He fell back once more, the back of his head cracking on the back of the wall, and his vision burst into blackness.

            The blue lion hit the surface of the planet just seconds later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not great at writing space fighting scenes. Get ready for lance to get messed up, next chapter coming soon


	4. Even In Space, Elevators are Awkward

Lance awoke, his chest squeezing as his throat seized, gasping in the thin air. He choked, suffocating, hand searching for his helmet. Thankfully, his hand hit it in his scurry, and he quickly placed it on his head and sealed it shut, greedily sucking in large breaths, his vision swimming. Each breath ached deep in his chest, his ribs and stomach crying out painfully when his breathing switched to weak coughing.

            He collapsed back, unable to hold himself up. His vision was blurry and unfocused, but he could make out smears of blood on the inside of his helmet, along with cracks in the visor. The familiar buzz of the comms was no longer present, telling Lance that his helmet was very damaged. He was lucky it was still functional enough to provide him with oxygen.

            In fact, he realized with a pang of terror, he couldn't even feel the presence of his lion even though he was in her cockpit. He mentally shouted for her, but got no response. He was alone.

             He tried to move his legs, but they felt heavy and cold. His left shoulder was stiff and in great, pounding agony. He wiggled his fingers. He could move them but it felt wrong somehow; his shoulder was definitely dislocated. His stomach hurt, an all too familiar pain pulsing through with the beat of his heart, the warm, sticky feeling of blood pooling on his skin and seeping into the fabric of his armour. Distant, old memories of flashing lights and screeching metal played in the back of his confused mind, a familiar fear threatening to consume him. He battled the thoughts back and swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut.

            "Damn. This _sucks._ "

***

            Keith didn't hesitate, trying to fly towards the planet after Lance. Anger and worry swirled in his gut: he was mad about Lance pushing him out of the way, he felt guilty that Lance had to do that in the first place, and he was incredibly worried when Lance began to spin down towards the looming planet underneath them.

            "Keith!" Shiro's voice cut through Keith's thoughts, and he pulled up short, a swarm of Galra ships flying in front of him, shooting at his lion. He growled in frustration, attacking the offending ships.

            "We need to get to Lance!" Hunk cried, sounds of fighting bleeding through his microphone.

            "There are so many Galra ships here... Where did they all come from?" Pidge cut in. Keith swung his lion around and watched as hundreds of Galra ships swarmed the lions with a surge of fury. He shot forwards and began to attack, the red lion clawing, shooting and biting her way through a dozen Galra ships within five minutes.

            "Keith! Go get Lance, we'll get rid of the Galra." Shiro said, the black lion smashing through the Galra ships that were shooting at Keith. "Try and make it back to the Castleship if you can. If not, wait there, we'll come for you."

            "Are you sure?" Keiths voice was strained. He watched the green lion get blasted before vines covered the ships nearby.

            "We can handle it. Just go!" Keith nodded and turned, jetting off towards the planet.

            The few ships that stood in his way were soon melted by the red lion's fire blast. Keith and his lion expertly dodged the flying shrapnel, the tug of gravity becoming more and more obvious as the red planet grew larger in his screen. Soon he was descending fast and he turned the controls gently as flames licked his lion. His lion used her jets to slow her descent, vaporizing the few clouds that stood in her path. It still amazed him just how fast his lion was; she had made it down in only a matter of minutes, and now they were flying high off the ground.

            The planet was small compared to their Earth, and the atmosphere was very thin and unbreathable. The terrain that Lance has crashed into was mostly flat, with a few craters and small, rocky grey mountains emerging from the deep red dirt. Keith studied the ground for signs of the blue lion and her paladin. He flew over a hill, coming down closer to the sand. A large crater with a purple heap rose up in front of him and he gave a small gasp of shock at the sight of the mangled robeast.

            The body of it rose like sharp angled mountains from the sand, the colourful parts of the beast reflecting the orange light of the midday sun through the thin atmosphere and clashing brilliantly with the deep, russet colour of the planet. The crater around it was deep in the dirt and rocks, the edges surging high. Pieces of the beast were scattered in every direction, smoking and damaged. It faced the sky, its mouth agape in a dying, silent scream, its lifeless eyes broken from their stalks and twisted and cooked, the face of some old, dead titan out of place in such a barren wasteland. The laser gun in its mouth glinted through two rows of long, pointed teeth, each one about as large as Keith himself. Its body and claws were scattered and crumpled in a large heap, disjointed and warped, almost buried in the giant crater the fall had made.

            Keith tore his eyes away from the beast, searching the ground frantically for the blue lion. He found her, lying in her own smaller crater a couple hundred meters away from the beast. Keith flew over quickly, swallowing his growing devastation at the sight of the once magnificent warship.

            She lay in her own crater, smaller than the robeast's but still large in its own right. The blue lion lay broken and defeated, her cheek resting on the ground, lumps of blue and white metal littered away from the impact site and lit by small fires that burned thinly in the weak air. The side of the lion was cracked by the impact of the robeast's claw, dented inwards like a grotesque wound. From his position in the sky Keith could see the wires and circuits inside the blue lion's chest cavity, sparking ominously. Her eyes were dimmed, and she had no barrier up to protect her. Keith swallowed; at least she wasn't destroyed completely. His throat tightened when he thought of what the condition of her pilot could be.

            Keith landed his lion and rushed out, careful to seal his helmet before exposing himself to the air. He slid down the slope of the crater, tripping on rocks but managing to keep his balance with the help of his jet packs. He reached the injured lion and, throwing rocks out of the way, managed to slide his way to the hatch on the top of the blue lion's head. The mouth of the lion was closed, and since she wasn't running, Keith knew that entering through the top of her head was his best bet, even if it was a bit of a squeeze. He used his bayard to pry open the door with a sucking noise as whatever oxygen was left in the lion was replaced by the thin air. Not for the first time Keith sent a quick hope into the sky that Lance had sealed his helmet before he crashed.

            He ducked in and crawled across the ladder, the position of the lion slightly disoriented as he stood up in the cockpit, the seat of the pilots chair facing towards him. Keith looked around in the dull light nervously, the dimly glowing sides of Lance's armour catching his eye. Keith hurried over, stomach sick at the sight of his friend.

            Lance was propped up against the side of the cockpit, facing Keith, his back leaning against what was the floor. His left arm was slumped at his side, and his other was pressed tight against his abdomen, where an obvious wound was bleeding sluggishly from his stomach. Keith climbed hurriedly over to him and noticed with sinking relief that Lance was breathing, and that he had his helmet on.

            "Hey, Lance," Keith shook Lance's arm. Lance's eyelids fluttered open but he didn't respond. "Lance, c'mon man," Keith reached over and gently made Lance face him, a gloved hand steady on the side of Lance's dented helmet.

            Slowly, too slowly, Lance met Keith's gaze and squinted, his brain focusing and registering at a snail's pace. "Oh, hey Keith," he slurred, "how'd you get in here?"

            "Uh, just through there," Keith motioned towards the open hatch. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" Keith turned and slowly lifted up Lance's hand from the oozing wound on his stomach. Thankfully, he wasn't stabbed through like Keith had feared, and while the wound seemed deep and ugly Lance didn't seem in any immediate danger of bleeding out in the short time it would take Keith to get Lance into the cockpit of the red lion.

            "Okay, I'm going to lift you up. Do you think you can walk?" Keith shuffled closer, looping an arm under Lance's right shoulder. Lance didn't answer, his eyes squinting like he was trying to decipher Keith's words. Keith swallowed, panic fluttering in his stomach. Lance's left arm dangled at his side, and when Keith lifted him to his feet, he gave a pained groan as his arm moved, hanging limply.

            "I know, sorry," Keith said softly, moving slowly towards the hatch. Keith found himself apologising again under his breath when Lance's breath hitched, but Lance just hummed in response, focusing on moving his legs and attempting to walk.

            Once they were outside the wreck, Keith begun to help Lance up the side of the slope, using his jetpacks to boost them. Thankfully, with the low gravity of the planet, Keith was able to get the two of them up the side of the crater without too much of an issue – though he winced every time Lance sucked in a breath too quickly. He was obviously in pain, and the trek along the foreign landscape wasn't helping. Keith swallowed in thankful relief when the red lion lowered her barrier, opening her mouth and letting down the ramp to greet the two paladins.

            Before Keith could get himself and Lance to the red lion, his comms sounded in his ears. "Keith, Keith can you hear me?"

            "Shiro? What's wrong?" Keith said, flicking his microphone on.

            "Keith, can you hold your position with Lance down there?" Shiro's voice was strained, panic edging its way into his tone. Keith could make out sounds of banging; the black lion was being shot at. "The Galra fleet is huge. We've moved them away from the planet, as far as we can go, but we need to wormhole out of here. The castle's barrier is down."

            "What? Shiro -" Keith stopped, adjusting his position with Lance. Lance had slumped against him, barely conscious. "Lance isn't doing great. I don't know if I can help him."

            "I'm sorry, Keith!" Shiro's panicked voice was tinged with regret. "There's a first aid kit in the lions. Once we're sure the castle is safe, we'll come back for you with a pod ready for him."

            Keith swallowed, gritting his teeth for a moment. "Okay, Shiro. I'll do what I can."

            "Hang tight, we'll be back as soon as we can." With that, Shiro's comms went silent. Keith sighed and flicked off the microphone, hoisting Lance up gently on his shoulder again. He looked to the side of the planet, grimacing as the sight of the moon, large and empty, shifted in the hazy red sky. The shadow of the red lion grew long and the air seemed to chill as Keith struggled to haul Lance up the ramp.

            Anger roiled in his stomach, burning with frustration as he imagined the faces of the aliens they tried to save. Likely, they were long gone by now, their job with the Galra completed. The red lion grumbled in agreement, closing her mouth slowly behind them and activating the air lock. The Empress would pay for hurting his friends.

***

            "And that one's Leo," Lance pointed to a group of stars above him. He sat on warm grass, the air humid and sticky. He was younger, dressed in shorts and a loose-fitting tank top, staring out at the stars while the grass kissed his toes. The ocean sat dark and still under the light of the sky, the distant sound of the waves making the night seem calm and hushed.

            Beside him, a younger boy squinted up at the sky, tilting his head as he tried to find the constellation Lance had pointed out to him. He was Lance's younger brother, almost a carbon copy of Lance and just a couple of years younger. He had the same brown hair and lanky body, but his eyes were green and his skin was paler, showing off the spattering of freckles across his nose. He gave up looking at the stars with a snort and rolled his eyes.

            "You're such a nerd, Lance. Why do you need to learn about space anyways? I thought you were going to be a swimmer?"

            "That doesn't mean I can't have other interests! I'm a complex person!" Lance pushed his brother's shoulder and laughed. Lance looked back up at the stars, twinkling brightly back at him.

            "You think there are, like, aliens out there?" Lance's brother asked, a smile making his face light up. "Think they'd abduct Mae if we ask them?"

            "Well, statistically speaking there probably are aliens out there, somewhere. But I don't think we'll be seeing any in our lifetime. I mean, they're just now launching a mission to Kerberos, which will be the farthest humans have ever been. I highly doubt we'll be hearing of any walking, talking aliens any time soon."

            "Alright, nerd brain, you lost me."

            "Yeah yeah," Lance laughed, clapping a hand on his brother's back jovially. His brother sighed, laying back on the grass with a huff of air. Lance watched him for a moment before looking back to the stars. They glittered, white and far away, already dead before they reached his eyes. He swallowed, fighting the urge that told him to fly, to join them. The stars winked at him as if to say _come, this is where you belong._

***

            Lance came to with a start – his helmet was off. Keith was saying something; his hand was pressed lightly against Lance's cheek. Squinting, Lance tried and failed to focus on Keith's voice. He must have blacked out before they reached the red lion, because he barely remembered the trek out of Blue.

            _Quiznack,_ his head _hurt._

            Lance swallowed and leaned back, eyes still following Keith as he spoke. Lance could hear his voice, but it was fuzzy. He was having trouble seeing, like there was a black cloud over his mind. His stomach flipped uncomfortably when he shook his head to clear it, the pounding headache making nausea settle in heavily. Lance blinked a couple of times; Keith was saying something important.

            A wave of pain snapped him out of his stupor and he let out a cry. Keith had pulled on his arm, and Lance felt the joint of his bone roll back into the socket with a grinding pop, sending out aching waves of agony. Lance gasped, gritting his teeth against this new assault.

            "Sorry, it will start to feel a bit better soon," Keith said. Lance swallowed, glad he could focus enough to understand him.

            "S'all good, man." Lance said softly once the pain began to ebb away, his voice rough in his throat. Keith looked up and breathed out a sigh of relief.

            "Oh thank god," Keith said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You blacked out for a bit there."

            Lance hummed in acknowledgement, pressing a hand down on the still-bleeding wound on his stomach. "Where are we?"

            "Still stuck on this stupid planet," Keith growled, looking out of the window of the red lion. He scowled at the rising moon. "We're stranded. The sun is setting, and I can still see the goddamned robeast from where we are." He stood and huffed, his shoulders tense with frustration and anxiety.

            "Hey man, it's okay. The red lion won't let anything get to us," Lance said, trying to get Keith to calm down. "Where are the others?"

            "Dunno. Light-years away," Keith sighed, glancing back at Lance, the building frustration mingling with fear for their safety. "The Galra attacked once you, uh, _took care_ of the robeast. Apparently there were a lot, because the others wormhole’d away about ten minutes ago."

            Lance gave a snort, swallowing thickly. "Figures," he'd said, "We always have the best luck. You'd think that being saviours of the universe would give us better karma points."

            Keith turned to look at him. "Yeah," he snorted, "you'd think." He shook his head, looking upset. "I don't think they should have left us, though."

            Lance was about to agree when his stomach cramped painfully, a wave of hot, stinging agony rising from his wound. He groaned and winced, his arm shaking as he pressed down on his wound, hard, trying to stop the wound from bleeding. His skin felt bruised and wet there, the pain of the wound seeping in deep into his abdomen. Keith started to shuffle through the supplies in the red lion hurriedly, pulling out gauze and haphazardly shoving it at Lance, pushing his hand out of the way and pressing the gauze down on the wound. Lance squirmed in pain, his toes curling in his shoes and his teeth gritting against it.

            "Here, hold this," Keith gave Lance more gauze, which Lance dutifully pressed to his stomach, glad for the task. Keith pulled Lance forwards a bit, tugging on the clasps at the back of the armour. He pulled his hand back with a curse, then started to feel along the back of Lance's head, where his hair was matted with blood and slick to his skull. Lance winced at the touch.

            "You didn't tell me you hit your head!" Keith said, picking up and inspecting Lance's helmet with a curse. He started rummaging through the first aid kit he'd picked up, pill bottles and band-aids rattling about, He stopped with a frustrated growl, dumping the first aid kit in front of him and looking through the mess. He shook his head and stood, walking to the side of the red lion, his shoulders trembling. He returned empty-handed moments later, his face tense.

            "Hey, it's okay, there's nothing you can do for a concussion anyways." Lance said softly, smiling at Keith in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Keith frowned and sat down with a sigh.

            "I know." Keith started to pull gauze out of the mess on the ground. He picked up a pill bottle and squinted, trying to read the tiny print, most likely written in Altean.

            Lance let out a cough, the action jarring his body and making his wound sting horribly. His head began to squeeze painfully, his brain felt a few sizes too big, and Lance was suddenly sure that his skull would soon burst. His ribs ached and his shoulder pounded, all the pain swirling around suddenly in his body and made him feel very sick. A wave of heat washed through him, elevating his nausea and causing the pain in his abdomen to escalate. He began to pant, trying to adjust his position, weakly pushing himself forwards. He was way too hot, and he wanted his armour off.

            "Woah, hey," Keith put his hands on Lance's shoulders, trying to push him back down. Lance batted his hands away weakly, reaching over with his one good arm and trying to undo the clasps behind his neck.

            "Stop, let me do that," Keith reached over and began to shift the armour, unclasping the chest piece and pulling it over Lance's head while Lance sat there and panted. A jingle sounded as Keith pulled off the chest piece, and a necklace swung back to lay against Lance's chest. Lance grabbed it with a trembling hand and pressed it against his chest, closing his eyes.

            "You're wearing that even now?" Keith asked, surprised that Lance had it on under his armour. Lance swallowed.

            "Always."

***

            Lance walked towards the elevator, a small towel wrapped around his neck. He was exhausted; they'd been up and running all day with very little time to rest. His body still felt too jumpy to allow him to go to sleep, and all he wanted to do was swim. He'd been dreaming of beaches, blue and beautiful, and was ecstatic when Allura mentioned a pool in the castle. He hoped that it wasn't some horrible alien invention and was just a simple pool that he could swim in. He sighed, getting in the elevator, his bare feet slapping against the ground as he walked. He could feel his necklace heavy against his neck and shivered.

            The elevator door had just begun to close when Keith, a towel flung over his head, barged his way in. Lance groaned inwardly, eyeing the red swim trunks Keith was wearing, matching closely to his own.

            "What the heck do you think you're doing?" Lance said, hopes of having the pool to himself fading quickly.

            "Allura said there's a pool, I'm going to go check it out," Keith sounded tired. "What do you think you're doing?"

            "Same thing." Lance let out a sigh as the elevator doors shut.

            "Look, you stay on one side of the pool, and I'll stay on the other," Keith said, glancing over at Lance. "And we'll be far, far away from each other."

            Lance rolled his eyes at Keith's statement. He honestly couldn't care less; he was used to sharing the pool with other people. He just wanted to swim. Lance glanced over at Keith, starting when he realized that Keith was eyeing him up.

            "Like what you see?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

            "You always wear that necklace, huh?" Keith said, expression mostly harmless curiosity.

             "Yep." Lance answered. His necklace consisted of a thin leather strip tied behind his head. Dangling from the leather was two rings, both made of a dark, silvery material. Lance swallowed. He only took the necklace off when he slept.

            Keith was still staring, and Lance fought the urge to snap at him, his exhaustion making his temper short.

            "Uh, Lance?" Keith finally said, his eyes widening.

            "What?" He sighed tiredly.

            "What's with the scar?"

            Lance looked down, surprised. He'd almost forgotten he was shirtless, the scar on his stomach bared in the view of all to see. It was a long, slightly curved line, about the length of his middle finger, and thin. It had scarred spots around it, giving away the fact that it had once held stitches. Lance traced the white mark lightly with his finger, phantom pain blooming dully across his stomach. He swallowed and shook his head, pushing down memories.

            "Uh, it's old. I don't remember how I got it," Lance felt Keith tense beside him at the obvious lie, but he couldn't bring himself to meet Keith's gaze.

            "Looks like it was painful," Keith prodded, peering closer.

            "I said I don't remember! Drop it," Lance snapped, pulling his towel tighter to him and stepping away from Keith. The irritation was evident on Keith's face and he stepped back with a glower.

            "Okay, jeez. Just trying to make conversation."

            Lance sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes, tying to think up a way to apologize without explaining the origin of his scar. He just wanted to get to the pool and forget about everything for a while.

            The elevator stopped with an ominous clang, the power suddenly giving out and pitching the two boys into darkness. Lance sighed, sharing an exasperated glance with Keith; everything that day just seemed to go wrong. Lance closed his eyes.

            Maybe he just wasn't meant to swim.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments on the last chapter! If you want to come yell at me or anything, you can find me here: http://nmirah-the-paladin.tumblr.com/
> 
> This chapter was fun to write!


	5. After All, We're Still Just Kids

           Keith leaned back with a tense sigh, his knees starting to ache against the metal floor of the red lion's cockpit. He'd somehow managed to get Lance's undersuit down to just above his waist while taking his arms out with great care, his swollen shoulder already bruising. Keith manoeuvred Lance's arm gently back on his lap so Keith could deal with the wound, the metal necklace still glinting gently around his neck. Keith peeked up at Lance's face when he set the arm down, his friend's expression drawn in a tight grimace. Lance's short bangs were plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his skin was pale and splotchy. Keith couldn't tell if he was conscious or not, but he hoped Lance was out of it enough not to feel the pain from his stomach.

            The thick fabric of the undersuit held some sort of alien tech that regulated temperature and protected the paladins from the effects of space, and was currently was trapping a lot of blood from Lance's wound. The blood, clotting and drying, was making his skin stick to the back of the tight-fitting suit as Keith peeled it away from the wound. Keith swallowed and tugged sharply, exposing the wound to the dim lighting of the cockpit with a sickening sound that reminded him vaguely of velcro. He grimaced when he saw it, angry and deep and stretching from Lance's right  hipbone to the bottom of his ribcage. The trapped blood had run all over his skin, pooling on his chest and stomach in various states of drying. Keith wrinkled his nose at the sharp scent of blood, and carefully took a damp alcohol wipe from the first aid kit and started to clean off the blood. He dabbed as gently as he could around the tender wound, nervously listening to the shuddering, painful breaths that Lance took.

            Once the majority of the blood was cleaned off from the site of the wound, Keith worked quickly to tape down some gauze tightly to the wound, packing on a tiny mound that rose in the middle. It was ugly, but it would have to do for now. Keith hoped he wouldn't have to replace the gauze before Lance went into the pod. He'd already lost quite a bit of blood.

            With a soft huff, Keith started to clean off the rest of the blood, starting to get a bit embarrassed. He glanced quickly at Lance, who still wore the grimace with closed eyes. Keith did not like touching other people much to begin with, but he especially hated that he had to put his hands all over Lance's chest and stomach without even asking permission. He knew, objectively, that he _had_ to, or Lance could die. It didn't help the self-conscious blush from creeping up his cheeks.

            Scowling, Keith tossed the dirty alcohol wipe he was holding to the ground, in the pile of other garbage that he'd accumulated. He used another to wash off the blood from his hands. Reaching over to get Lance dressed again, Keith's eyes wandered down to the scar that stretched along Lance's stomach. Now, with the wound that would surely scar on the other side of his stomach, Lance would have two, matching on both sides. Keith wondered if, now that he and Lance had been getting along better, he would tell him the origin of the scar. It really did look like it had hurt.

            Lance moved with a short gasp, his eyelids fluttering. Keith looked up, putting a tentative hand on Lance's right shoulder.

            "Hey, you awake?" Lance opened his eyes slightly, just enough that light reflected back at Keith. Lance began to breath in short gasps, panting and shivering from the pain. Keith swallowed, feeling vaguely guilty. He moves his hands and starts to hike up the undersuit, hoping fervently that Shiro would come for them soon.

***

                        "I'm Galra." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Keith stared at his feet shamefully, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He had been trailing behind Lance, walking aimlessly down the hallway while Lance rattled on about how amazing the red lion had been. Keith let Lance lead him away after a quick debriefing, uncomfortable with the thought of telling so many people at once. He had just hoped that Shiro would tell them, but he couldn't act like the truth wasn't rolling around in his gut, and he knew some part of him would feel guilty if he didn't tell at least one person himself. So he'd blurted it without really meaning to. He glanced up, his eyes meeting a very confused Lance, who stood there with his mouth open slightly and his eyebrows up.

            "Uhh, you uh, you wanna elaborate on that, buddy?" Lance said, giving a worried and puzzled smile.

            "I'm Galra. Or, at least part Galra, I'm not really sure," Keith shrugged, "I'd sorta suspected, I mean before, but I needed to know for sure, I needed to, I-I couldn't just let it go and leave!" Keith swallowed. Lance looked like he was beginning to understand and stood there patiently, nodding for him to continue.

            "I suspected it for a while. I've had this dagger," Keith pulled out his blade, the glowing purple insignia exposed. It no longer held comfort for him, and now the deadly looking blade seemed foreign. "It was my mother's, at least that's what my dad told me." Keith sighed and told Lance what had happened with the Blade of Marmora. Lance stood quietly, listening and processing and letting Keith speak until the story was finished. Keith stared at the dagger in his hands, miserably waiting for a reaction.

            "So, your mother was Galra?"

            "I... I don't know." Keith said, looking up. "I honestly have no clue, but she must have been at least some part Galra."

            "Huh," Lance looked thoughtful for a moment. "That's certainly... a lot to process. You okay?"

            "What?" Keith frowned. "You're not... upset?"

            "I mean... are you?"

            "I think... I'm mostly just relieved. To know." Keith shrugged again.

            "Then I'm relieved for you," Lance nodded. He flashed his regular shit-eating grin at Keith. "It figures that you, out of everyone here, would turn out to be part alien!"

            "Uh, I mean..." Keith shook his head, frustration turning his voice angry. "Why are you so... _okay_ with this? I'm Galra, part of the race we're trying to destroy!"

            Lance considered Keith very carefully, his easy smile dropping. "Can I trust you?" He asked. His expression was carefully blank.

            "I would never do anything to harm Voltron," Keith answered honestly. He could feel his heart rate rising, anxiety creeping up his throat.

            "Then I'm okay with it. It's not like you were lying to us, or that you're a double agent or something. We're learning this for the first time, but so are you. I'm more worried about how _you_ feel than what I care. You're still Keith, you haven't changed." Lance shrugged. "I mean, it is weird, yeah? That you're part alien. How does that work, like, biologically?" Lance considered this for a moment, before shaking his head. "Anyways, what I mean is, as long as you're okay, we'll be okay."

            Keith stared at him for a moment, his anxiety melting away with every word Lance said. It made sense, he guessed. He felt as though he was hiding it for a while, but he had been afraid of their reactions. Lance, however, didn't seem to care too much, at least not in the ways that Keith had feared.

            Lance snickered, grinning mischievously at him. "You're still the same stinky mulleted dude we picked up in the desert back on earth. Nothing has changed at all."

            "Hey! My hair doesn't stink!" Keith laughed, all negative emotions leaving him.

            "Yeah, sorry Keith but I think your nose is broken." Lance waved a hand in front of his face playfully. "Anyways, you need to change out of that suit and get some band-aids or something." Lance turned and started to head down the hallway. Keith watched him go, his heart thumping in his chest. He felt a small smile play on his lips, his anxiety melting away completely.

            That night, Keith had another revelation that sent his heart drumming wildly in his chest as he lay there, running that conversation over and over in his head, pausing on each of the different faces Lance had made. How calm he was, how he patiently let him speak his mind. How he laughed and made the moment more lighthearted. How pretty his eyes were, and how his stupid grin made dimples appear on his cheeks.

            "Shit."

***

            Lance leaned against the old wooden railing, the beat of the music seeping through the floorboards of the patio he was on and vibrating against the soles of his bare feet. He eyed the party going on inside the house, multitudes of familiar people running around, dancing, eating and generally having a good time. His heart filled with a content sort of joy, watching his mother and father flit through the crowd of distant relatives and family friends.

            A friendly face emerged from the crowd, closing the patio door behind him, weakly blocking the loud sounds of the party. He moved over to where Lance was, and Lance smiled gleefully at him. They turned towards the  beach surrounding them. The sounds of the ocean, his friend beside him, the fuzziness that a dream gives. It made him feel at peace.

            He came to with a start, Keith's voice raising to a shout. Lance felt his heart stuttering in his chest, slowing to a steady thump as the shock of being awoken wore off. He raised his head slightly, shivering in the cold air of the cockpit. The sun must have gone down.

            Keith was muttering into the comms, clearly agitated. Lance forgot himself for a second, trying to hoist himself up to go help him. He fell back with a groan, not even able to hold himself in a proper sitting position. Keith heard this and walked over, still muttering into the comms. He handed Lance some water, a tinny voice that Lance identified as Pidge replying to him through his helmet. Keith scowled, and Lance was mildly frustrated that his helmet was broken, unable to hear whatever Pidge was saying.

            Taking careful sips of the water, Lance painfully shifted his position, his injured arm throbbing and tight. After a few moments, Keith said something to Pidge and took off his helmet with a sigh.

            "What's the verdict?" Lance rasped, eyes following Keith as he propped himself up against the wall and sat down beside Lance.

            "We're going to be stuck here for a few more hours, apparently." Keith's voice held frustration, but he looked mostly calm, like the news had not come as a surprise.

            "Figures. We have the best luck," Lance let out a weak laugh.

            "How are you feeling?"

            "Honestly? Like crap. But I'll live." Lance git his teeth, trying to sit up and adjust his position.

            "Hey! Just... chill, okay?" Keith put a gentle hand on Lance shoulder. "You're really hurt, and I'm pretty sure you have a concussion."

           Lance let out a sigh and slumped back, white stars dancing in his eyes and a dull, persistent ringing in his ears. The steady ball of pain in the back of his skull had doubled to the front, giving him the feeling of something squeezing his head from both sides. He shut his eyes tightly, flinching when he felt a shake on his shoulder. It took him a few seconds before he realized that Keith was trying to talk to him.

            "Lance! You okay?" Keith shook Lance's shoulder lightly once more.

            Lance took a moment, blinking and squinting, urging the white spots from his eyes. "I'm okay. Dizzy," he answered, pulling a shaking hand through his sweaty and disgusting hair (damn, he could really use a shower), then placing it tenderly on the wound on his stomach with a slight grimace.

            "Sorry, I don't know how to use the medicine in the first aid kits," Keith apologized, kicking the kit lightly with his foot. "It's all written in Altean, and it's probably 10,000 years past it's expiry date, anyways."

            Lance hummed in response, swallowing as a bolt of pain rain through the cut, adding to the endless throbbing in his shoulder and his head.

            "Lance? You still with me?"

            "Yeah," Lance sighed, turning his head to meet Keith's worried eyes. "This really sucks. Sorry for crashing."

            Keith opened his mouth to protest but Lance shook his head. He gave Keith a wavering half-smile, half-grimace. "You can chew me out for it later, kay? I don't really remember it too well anyways. What happened to the robeast, by the way?"

            "Dead, I think. You did good," Lance smiled, and Keith sat back, the lights dimming slightly in the cockpit. "Get some sleep, Lance. I'll keep an ear out for the others."

            Lance shut his eyes, but somehow did not feel tired. After a few ticks of silence, he turned to look at Keith again.

            "You ever think about Earth?"

            Keith's eyes were open, and he blinked over at him curiously. "Yeah, I do."

            "What do you miss?"

            Keith considered this for a moment, then smiled. "The sun, feeling the heat rise from the dirt in the evening. Riding my hoverbike, my house in the desert. Hamburgers."

            Lance laughed at that. "I miss hamburgers too. With bacon."

            "And ketchup. And a cold drink on a hot summer day."

            "Aw, man, don't make me hungry!"

            "What do _you_ miss?" Keith chuckled, the sound making Lance smile.

            "Swimming in the ocean. Rain, dancing, my family, music, having conversations in Spanish, reading stupid snapchats my older brother sends me," Lance smiled wider. "There's a lot to miss."

            "Did you play any music?" Keith asked.

            Lance shrugged his one good shoulder. "I used to play the guitar a bit, but I was never really great at it. My older brother kept trying to teach me."

            Keith hummed thoughtfully. "What's your brother like?"

            "Amazing. His name is Erik. He's already married, two kids," Lance said. "I looked up to him a lot growing up. We were really close."

            "I can tell you miss him. Your family probably misses you too," Keith's voice was soft and reassuring. Lance's eyes burned with tears and he nods. The two of them sat together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

            "Can I ask you a question?" Keith asked, his voice quiet.

            "Can I ask one first?" Lance asked, rolling his head and meeting Keith's eyes. Keith nodded.

            "How are you and Allura getting along?" Keith blinked in surprise at the question, then frowned ever so slightly.

            "I think it's.... better." Keith ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think she trusts me yet, not really."

            "That's stupid of her," Lance rolled his eyes. "She'll come around. You haven't done anything wrong."

            "Yeah," Keith nodded again, fiddling with his hands on his lap. A few beats of silence passed.

            "You gonna ask your question?" Lance said, frowning at Keith's nervous, slightly bashful appearance.

            "Have you, uh, ever been in love before?"

            Lance snorted. "Uh, have you?" He laughed inwardly. It was a stupidly awkward and randomly personal question. He sorta felt like he was peeking in on one of his sister's sleepovers when she was in middle school.

            "No, never," Keith shrugged. "Never got the chance, I guess."

            Lance's heart sank, and he rolled his head back with a squint of pain. "That sucks, man. We should be back at the Garrison, getting into trouble and falling into two-week romances." He heaved a heavy sigh. "Guess we aren't really kids anymore, huh?"

            Another beat  of silence. "Well? Have you?"

            Lance gave himself a moment of consideration. "Yes," he answered honestly. His head was starting to pound again. He opened his mouth to elaborate but a spike of pain, like a stake being driven through his skull, caused his answer to turn into a soft whimper. He felt Keith push him gently down, into a more relaxed position.

            "Sleep; we should be getting out of here soon. We can talk later," Keith said worriedly. Lance closed his eyes against the pain.

            It took a while, but he eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy season 3! What a good time


End file.
